Jets forward Evander Kane may be entitled to his rights as a citizen, as Gary Lawless wrote in a column. And our readers are entitled to their comments. Here are some of them:

I don’t really care if Kane is a saint or a jerk when he is not with the team. It’s his personal time. We had the same thing happen with Tkachuk, if I can recall correctly and he matured, and later came back and embraced the city. In fact, I have heard he even purchased tickets to Jets games for the season, since his wife is from Winnipeg.

— MuddyWaters

Kane is not an angel. He is a young guy in a great town having some fun. How many of us behaved perfectly all the time when we were 20? In this age of social networking, how would we feel if everything we did then became fodder for discussion online with little or no basis in fact? The “I have a friend whose cousin works at Earls who says… ” is not fact, people!

— GLW

What has Kane done exactly that displays immaturity? He is a young, exciting hockey player, articulate, intelligent and with some swagger — slick clothes, wink to the camera, hot girlfriend. Is Winnipeg such a minor-league town that we can’t handle him? Kane’s critics are the immature ones.

— 23620347

Whatever the case may be, he’s wearing No.9, the former number of the Golden Jet. When Mr. Hull played here he was a class act, always had time for the kids and was well-respected by this everyone in the city. So until he grows up and starts acting like an adult and a professional, he should change his number to zero.

— ActionFigure

So you aren’t old enough to remember the Hull stories, huh? Oh well. You’re forgiven.

— RememberNorthPortage

I’m another who “Heard it from a friend of a friend.” She alleged that he walked out on his bill… Then changed her story to say he didn’t leave a tip. To her I said, “Well, what if your friend was a horrible server?”
She didn’t have much to say afterwards… Having money doesn’t mean you’re bound by law to leave a 50 per cent, 25 per cent, 15 per cent, 10 per cent or even five per cent tip. He’s just another guy and I’m glad the truth has come out.

— Hadtosignupalready

At the end of the day, they’re athletes. It’s your choice if you want them as role models. Not the first time this has happened. Remember Pat Burns making a couple of calls to get Mike Keane and Shayne Corson out of trouble when they brawled at a club in Winnipeg? Or Tkachuk rolling his vehicle (sober apparently)? They’re athletes, people. That’s it. The role-model theory is DEAD in the WATER. They should just concentrate on performing. It doesn’t mean that every NHLer is a good person.

— freepressreader1

This is all very interesting but I can’t help but notice not one of his teammates has spoken up in defence of this guy. That is normally the first thing that happens in one of these situations.

— Tom Canada

High-profile athletes are paid to represent the clubs on and off the ice. Their first responsibility is to score play hockey, score goals and win games. Players also have a responsibility to their employer to conduct themselves off the rink in a professional manner. In most cases be respectful to others, be polite and do not expect that the world revolves around because you are an elite hockey player.

Look at the class Wayne Gretzky conducted himself with throughout his career or the way Teemu Selanne or Tie Domi conducted themselves while they played in Winnipeg. Everybody who ran into them on the street, in the shop, in a restaurant or at bar walked away thinking these guys are class acts.

I can’t think of a situation where Crosby has acted inappropriately in public. I could go on.
Players who act like jerks in public will never be respected by their teammates or clubs. When it comes to negotiating contracts and endorsement deals they are going to miss out.